Dublin Life & Culture.

The Berlin Wall (In Inchicore)

Back in 1965, Smithfield square and other parts of the northside were transformed into Berlin, when Richard Burton visited Dublin (along with Liz Taylor) for the classic espionage film ‘The Spy Who Came In From The Cold’. Today, a visitor to Smithfield would learn this from the local history plaque which takes pride of place within the old drinking fountain, while sharper eyes might notice the sign above the Cobblestone pub, who sell a beer named ‘Checkpoint Charlie’ in honour of the areas Hollywood connection. The cost of bringing Berlin to Smithfield was reported to be £8,000, with “firemen on call in case the rain demanded by the script didn’t arrive.” This being Ireland, they naturally weren’t needed.

You can see Smithfield transformed in the trailer for the film here:

What became of the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie after filming? Digging in the newspaper archives, I found this image. It shows the set in all its glory.

The Irish Times, 30 March 1965.

This photo shows 45-year-old Dublin businessman Bart Cummins, who bought the set and who the paper reported “is moving Checkpoint Charlie to the gate of his new galvanising works at Inchicore, Dublin.” Bart purchased the set for Cummins Brothers’ brass foundry. Bart was also heavily involved in local football club Saint Patrick’s Athletic, at a time when the club were in financial dire straits and at risk of collapse. The Cummins family had long been involved in the club from its formation, and continued to play a role in the club long afterwards.

A December 1965 Irish Press report on Saint Patrick’s Athletic

Sean Lynch has written about Bart acquiring the famous set, noting that:

He re-erected a watchtower in front of his yard in Inchicore and appeared on national television as the man with the best known replica of the Wall. He gradually sold it off in sections. Some of the material was recycled to rebuild Saint Christopher’s School, the first Travellers’ school in Ireland. Situated in Cherry Orchard at the western edge of Dublin, the school was organised and run independently of the Department of Education by civil rights activist Grattan Puxon.

Does anyone from Inchicore have any images of this watchtower, or do they remember seeing it?

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6 Responses

That travellers’ school in Cherry Orchard was burnt down by the Corpo in the early 1960s as part of their efforts to clear the halting site. The Grattan Puxton mentioned above was (I think) an English anarchist who came over and got involved with the travellers’ rights movement; you can find his reminsinces on Google. Apparently the school was rebuilt using materials from the Berlin Wall film set.

When it says Inchicore it may mean Bluebell. I recall a tower like structure in a factory on right hand side of Old Naas Road between Kylemore Road and Naas Road in late 60’s early 70’s. As for the Bluebell being Inchicore, Killeen Paper Mills address was Inchicore http://www.dia.ie/works/view/36135 and when Industrial Gases moved from Hammond Lane it was to Inchicore too.